OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM

'Saddam's bombmaker'not credible?

Fired by coalition, critics say U.S.knew of unreliability 8 years ago

Sherrie Gossett is associate editor for Accuracy in Media and a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily. Her original news stories have been widely cited by the press, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Herald, Agence France-Presse, London Times, Fox News and Inside Edition. She is based in Washington, D.C.

The CIA refuses to release a document claimed by critics as evidence the U.S. had reason as early as eight years ago to question the reliability of a key former witness to Iraq’s alleged nuclear weapon’s program, known as “Saddam’s bombmaker.”

Further doubts about the credibility of Dr. Khidir Abdul Abbas Hamza, the “star” witness of the Bush administration’s war apologia, come amid reports he has been quietly fired by the Coalition Provisional Authority and faces eviction from its “Green Zone” headquarters in Baghdad.

Hamza is the subject of increasing scrutiny from a handful of investigative journalists, even as most of the American mainstream media remain silent on the figure they propelled to international fame in the pre-war press.

In a now-famous speech just three months later, outlining the Iraqi threat, President Bush said, “If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy or steal an amount of highly enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year.”

After conclusion of the major bombing campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Hamza returned to Iraq as the senior adviser to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Appointed by the Coalition Provisional Authority, he was tasked with documenting the details of the alleged nuclear weapons program.

But sources within Iraq’s Ministry of Science and Technology told the Independent newspaper of London that Hamza seldom turned up for work and obstructed others from doing their jobs.

On March 4, the CPA did not renew his contract and now is trying to evict him from his house in its heavily guarded “Green Zone” headquarters, the daily says.

The report was similar to details received by WND last week from Dr. Imad Khadduri, a 30-year veteran of the Iraqi nuclear program.

The CPA did not respond to WND’s request for comment.

‘Liar’ and ‘opportunist’

Hamza previously faced harsh criticism from several Iraqi scientists who labeled him a liar and an opportunist, including Hussein Kamel, another “star” defector frequently cited by the Bush administration in the months prior to the war.

After his defection to Amman, Jordan, in 1995, Kamel was first de-briefed by the United Nations Special Commission , or UNSCOM, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

The 8-year-old de-briefing includes a passage critics contend reveals Hamza was an unreliable witness and the U.S. government was aware of that fact when it presented him to the public as the authoritative witness to an impending nuclear threat.

The passage indicates Kamel was shown a document he concluded was a “false document.” The U.N. concurred, calling it a “fake document.”

When Kamel asked the origin of the document, the U.N. responded it was received by fax and that “Dr. Khidir Abdul Abbas Hamza is related to this document.”

Kamel proceeded to characterize him as a “professional liar” who was “useless and was always looking for promotions.”

The U.N. document, marked “SENSITIVE,” was kept secret for eight years.

Since the CIA conducted its own de-briefing of Kamel, the question arises, did the CIA have any reason to believe Hamza was not related to the “fake document”?

WND asked the CIA to identify the “fake document” shown to Kamel during the de-briefing.

“I have a good idea what it is,” said one CIA official, who declined to discuss it further.

“You’re getting awfully close to sources and methods here,” she added.

WND asked the CIA on two separate occasions to release its de-briefing, noting if it contains information that would exonerate Hamza of the allegations, the agency would benefit from releasing even a redacted copy.

It is a view shared by Dhafir Selbi, the highly-regarded administrator behind the nuclear program, and Jafar Dhia Jafar, the program’s former head. Jafar had been imprisoned by Saddam in 1980 and was released upon the sole condition he create a successful nuclear weapons program.

Another top Iraqi nuclear scientist, a close colleague of Jafar, concurred with the characterization of Hamza as a liar, speaking to WND only on a not-for-attribution basis.

This scientist was involved in building the al-Jazeera processing plant in the north near Mosul for converting yellow cake coming from Sharqat into uranium oxide destined for the Tarmiya “Baghdadtrons” facility, north of Baghdad. The scientist said a good deal of new information on the subject will be revealed by Jafar’s promised book, to be titled “Now It Can Be Told.”

Dr. Hussain Shahristani, an Iraqi nuclear scientist tortured and imprisoned under Saddam for refusing to help build a nuclear device, told Patrick Cockburn of the Independent: “Hamza really was only a minor figure in our nuclear program and always exaggerated his own importance when he got to the U.S.”

Hamza worked for ISIS for two years. In 2002, Albright told Australia’s Lateline, “We must apologize that we no longer can in any way recommend Dr. Hamza. I unfortunately now believe he is deliberately distorting both his past credentials and his statements about Iraqi nuclear capabilities then and now. … I believe that his statements are often inaccurate, they’re inconsistent,” adding, “I think he’s distorted his title dramatically.”

Nevertheless, Albright’s estimation of a potential time frame for Iraq to develop a nuclear weapon did not differ considerably from Hamza’s.

Buchanan asked Perle about Hamza’s still-uncorroborated claim of 400 uranium-enrichment facilities in Iraq, noting there would be traces of uranium left behind even if the machinery had been moved.

Perle replied, “It appears that that information was incorrect. I’m not prepared to conclude that he lied simply because he was incorrect. Not all errors are lies.”

Silent media

Critical commentary on pre-war reporting has appeared in the Nation, Editor & Publisher Online, American Journalism Review, Columbia Journalism Review and Slate. Even so, since the occupation of Iraq began, mainstream media have been almost entirely silent on “Saddam’s Bombmaker.”

The scrutiny he faces in the U.S. is only from a handful of investigative reporters and the continued reporting of independent online sources such the Yellow Times, for which Khadduri writes.

Even an assassination attempt on the scientist was missed by media.

Four months ago, WorldNetDaily was the only news agency outside the Middle East to report an assasination attempt on Hamza’s life had been carried out Dec. 23. A roadside bomb was placed in one of Hamza’s oil tanks that feeds an electric generator at his home in the Daudi district of Baghdad. The bomb was detonated when Hamza left home in his U.S.-issued fortified car. The blast overturned his car and the explosion left a crater in the street.

Iraqi sources told WND Hamza was rumored to be earning some $300,000 for his work in Baghdad while scientists working under him, who previously earned $8,000 in the employ of Saddam Hussein, were now earning $400 a month.